Tottenham's Son Heung-Min in South Korea squad for Olympic Games

Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-Min has been included in the South Korea squad for this summer's Olympic Games.

The tournament in Rio de Janeiro is restricted to players aged under 23, but Spurs have given South Korea permission to include Son, who turns 24 in July, as one of three overage "wild cards."

South Korea's Olympic coach Shin Tae-Yong and his squad will set off for Brazil on July 18.

Tottenham travel to Australia for a preseason tournament in late July, and Son will join South Korea after club games against Juventus and Atletico Madrid.

Shin said that meant Son would not play in the first group game against Fiji, with South Korea also facing Mexico and Germany in a difficult group as they attempt to improve on their bronze medal at London 2012.

"We will try to hide things in a match against Fiji, but will put all of our efforts against Germany," the coach added.

"If we beat Fiji and manage to get a win or a draw against Germany, we can focus on Mexico. If we can't accomplish our goal from the start, then I consider South Korea are in the 'group of death.'"

Son could be unavailable until late August, ruling him out of a significant chunk of Spurs' preseason and the start of the the next campaign.

But athletes who earn an Olympic medal are exempt from South Korea's mandatory two-year military service, obligatory for all citizens, which could be beneficial to the club in the future.

Tottenham's Heung-Min Son says he has been released to play for South Korea at Olympics

Tottenham forward Heung-Min Son has been given permission to play for South Korea at the Olympic Games, according to the 23-year-old.

Son wants to represent his country in Rio in August as one of the three permitted over-age players, but his participation in Brazil would see him miss much of Tottenham's pre-season and the first few weeks of the season.

Clubs are not required to release players over 23 for the Olympics because the tournament is not organised by FIFA, but speaking in Seoul after Sunday's 2-1 win over the Czech Republic, he said: "I was told that I would definitely be allowed to play in the Olympics. What's important is when.

"I would love to join my team-mates (in the Olympic team)... I'm trying to join them as soon as possible.

Son was part of the South Korea team that won bronze at London 2012 and the former Bayer Leverkusen man, who had a stuttering first season at White Hart Lane with eight goals in 41 appearances, wants to help coach Shin Tae-Yong's side again.

"I would like to join the Olympics team soon to help it win a medal for two Olympics in a row," he added.

Tottenham set to allow star to drive up his transfer price

Spurs are going to allow Son Heung-Min to compete for South Korea in this summer’s Olympic Games

Don’t think for a second that Tottenham are allowing striker Son Heung-Min to play in this summer’s Olympics for any sort of altruistic reason. The real motivation for Spurs is to give the South Korean attacker a chance to show off his wares for potential buyers.

ESPN are reporting that Spurs have given Son the green light to participate, but the parties involved are still working on the precise release date. The timing issue could be tricky given the overlap between the Games and start of Tottenham’s pre-season. Still, the decision by Tottenham to permit Son to play tells us a great deal about his future with the club.

Principally, it tells us that Mauricio Pochettino and company are anxious to give Son an opportunity to improve his value in this summer’s transfer window. The affable striker struggled to adjust to life in the Premier League this season, and it’s been rumored that Pochettino doesn’t think he can hack it at White Hart Lane. There’s no better way to drive his transfer value up than to let him showcase his skills on the world stage.

Some Spurs fans might think it’s an effort by the club to give Son a confidence boost, but that just doesn’t pass the logic test. If they wanted to rebuild his confidence, they’d just trot him out there a few times during their pre-season schedule to tally some goals. You certainly wouldn’t send him outside of the club to train and bond with his international teammates instead.

Some Spurs fans still believe that Son can find a way to get back into Pochettino’s good graces, but I think the die is cast. His failure to make it at Tottenham doesn’t make him a bad player, he just isn’t particularly well suited for Pochettino’s demanding high press. He’d be much better off going to a club (and League) that focuses a little more on finesse than power.

As for where Son goes, that’s anybody’s guess at this point. One interesting idea though, could he be used to entice Dortmund to part with Henrikh Mkhitaryan? Just a thought…

Tottenham’s Danny Rose apologises for setting bad example in Chelsea draw

Danny Rose apologised for setting a bad example after frustrations boiled over during Tottenham’s bad-tempered 2-2 draw with Chelsea.

There was certainly no love lost between the two sides at Stamford Bridge as a feisty encounter produced 12 yellow cards as well as two mass brawls, in which both players and coaches were involved.

Tottenham and Chelsea may yet face retrospective action from the Football Association, with Mousa Dembélé particularly likely to receive a rebuke after he appeared to claw his fingers down Diego Costa’s face during a skirmish at the end of the first half.

There were several other incidents of petulance during the game and matters came to a head again at the full-time whistle when a melee in the tunnel resulted in Chelsea’s interim manager Guus Hiddink being pushed to the ground.

Rose, who sparked the first brawl after clashing with Willian and was booked, said he was sorry for how the game may have looked to young viewers.

“It is not nice to see for kids here or kids watching on TV. I apologise if it looked bad on TV,” Rose said.

“It is a London derby. It is to be expected. We wanted to win and they wanted to stop us having any more say in the title race.

“There are no bad words to say about Chelsea. These are the games you want to be part of. It was a great game.”

Érik Lamela appeared to tread deliberately on Cesc Fàbregas’s hand, Eric Dier was lucky not to be sent off for a reckless challenge and Costa was also fortunate not to receive punishment after leaning his head into Jan Vertonghen’s face.

The ill feeling continued after the game as another scrum outside the tunnel saw Hiddink fall to the ground while the likes of Rose, Costa and Vertonghen grappled with each other.

“I couldn’t tell you what happened, it was just handbags being thrown,” Rose said. “I saw the Chelsea manager fell on the floor. I hope he is all right. People were saying from the bench that he conducted himself like a true gentleman throughout the whole game. He did not want any trouble to be started.”

Chelsea had made clear before the match they wanted to end Tottenham’s Premier League title challenge and they succeeded as goals from Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard cancelled out earlier strikes from Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Hazard scored to win the Blues the title last season and his stunning 83rd-minute finish this time ensured Leicester were crowned champions, with the Foxes now seven points clear with two games left.

“There are going to be tackles and tempers flaring. That is football,” the Spurs striker Harry Kane said. “We probably lost control a little bit. We had to be a bit more patient. But we are proud of each other. We fought for each other and that is what a good team does. We have got to learn from it and go again next season.”

The draw does mean Tottenham have all but secured at least a third-place finish and with Champions League football to come next season, Kane insists this young Spurs team will be back.

“This is not going to be a one-off,” Kane said. “People are starting to see that we are a good team and are getting better and better.

“All we can do is keep doing what we are doing, learn from days like today and take that into next season. We are there to fight for the league for many years to come.”

Owen Hargreaves makes a confident claim about Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min will eventually come good for Tottenham Hotspur, says Owen Hargreaves.

Former Manchester United and Manchester City midfielder Owen Hargreaves said on BT Sport 2 on Thursday evening that Tottenham Hotspur fans have yet to see the best of Son Heung-min.

Hargreaves made the comments about Son in the build-up to BT Sport 2’s live coverage of the Europa League last-16 first-leg tie between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham at Signal Iduna Park on Thursday evening (March 10).

“I think he is a very good player, he is a top player, he is only young, he is only 23 years old,” said the former Bayern Munich star. “In two seasons at Leverkusen, he scored 29 goals, so he is a natural goalscorer.”

“I think he has everything to his game,” added Hargreaves. “Spurs fans haven’t seen enough of him yet because this Spurs team is so good.”

Son joined Tottenham from German club Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015. The South Korea international forward arrived in England with a strong reputation, but he has yet to play to the best of his abilities for Spurs.

The 23-year-old has scored two goals and created 17 chances in 21 Premier League appearances so far this campaign.

Son has a pass accuracy of 79% and a shot accuracy of 58%, and has won five headers, 14 dribbles and 21 tackles.

The former Bayer star struggled to make an impact against Dortmund on Thursday evening. Son took two shots, had a pass accuracy 75%, did not create any chance, attempted one dribble, and made one interception and three clearances.

What have you made of Son Heung-min’s performances so far this season?

Son Heung-min shares Spurs' dressing room mood, comments on Pochettino's rotation decision

Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 3-0 by Borussia Dortmund on Thursday night.

Tottenham Hotspur ace Son Heung-min has told Goal that the Spurs dressing room as 'very quiet' after the 3-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

Spurs went to Germany in hope of a Europa League victory over Dortmund, but were soundly beaten at Signal Iduna Park, as the Bundesliga giants claimed a 3-0 win in the first leg of their quarter final clash.

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang opened the scoring for Thomas Tuchel's men, before Marco Reus notched two second half goals to not only win the game, but potentially knock Tottenham out of the competition.

A second leg recovery at White Hart Lane seems unlikely, with manager Mauricio Pochettino seemingly putting the club's Premier League title hopes ahead of the Europa League.

The Argentine's team selection on Thursday night drew plenty of criticism, as the likes of Erik Lamela, Mousa Dembele, Kyle Walker and Harry Kane were all left on the bench, whilst Eric Dier didn't even make the trip as Pochettino rotated his side.

It didn't work though, as Spurs mustered just three shots on goal and two shots on target, but winger Son Heung-min has told Goal that he doesn't think the rotation from Pochettino was the main reason for Tottenham's crushing defeat in Germany.

Son added that the mood in the dressing room was somewhat downbeat and 'very quiet', but didn't criticise Pochettino's rotation decision, and immediately looked ahead to this weekend's Premier League game against Aston Villa.

"We are very sad of course," said Son. "We did not think that we would lose by such a high margin. In the dressing room it was very quiet, but Dortmund were very good. Now we have to think about and prepare for the next match."

"I don’t know why it didn’t work out. But all of our players have quality and the coach has decided to rotate. I don’t think that the reason is the league, but the fact that he wanted to give a chance to other players who work always very well."

"We wanted to concentrate on the Europe League, but in the Premier League we still have the chance to become champions. Against Aston Villa? They play at home, they’re last in the table and they will come to fight. This has become a hard game for us and we must give 100 per cent," he added.

What did you think of Pochettino's decision to rotate the Spurs side?

Tottenham v Norwich preview: Pochettino could risk rotating against dangerous Canaries

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to start a winning run when they host Norwich City on Boxing Day.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side are fourth in the table and have only lost twice in the Premier League this season, but eight draws mean that they have lost pace with frontrunners Arsenal and Leicester City.

Last weekend’s 2-0 win at Southampton was an excellent response to the home defeat to Newcastle United, but Spurs will want to string victories together. Their best winning run this season is three.

Although Norwich toppled Manchester United at Old Trafford in their previous outing, Pochettino might see their visit to White Hart Lane as an easier game than the trip to high-flying Watford 48 hours later.

Any rotation of his squad therefore might come against the Canaries. Kyle Walker, Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen may all be held back, but Harry Kane is likely to start a 46th straight league game.

Kieran Trippier may be called upon for a full league debut for Spurs. Son Heung-Min, Nacer Chadli, Tom Carroll and Nabil Bentaleb are also in contention if Pochettino chooses to shuffle his pack.

Summer buy Clinton N’Jie has been ruled out for up to three months after knee surgery. Ryan Mason and Alex Pritchard are also sidelined. Danny Rose has recovered from illness, The Guardian reports.

Alex Neil may also consider resting some players. Monday’s home game against rock-bottom Aston Villa is much more winnable despite the confidence victory at United would have brought his Norwich side.

The Canaries should also be boosted by their recent record versus Spurs. They have lost only once on their last four trips to the white half of North London, and beat them in their most recent top-flight meeting in 2014.

Declan Rudd will continue to keep ex-England goalkeeper John Ruddy out of the side. Youssouf Mulumbu could be recalled at the expense of Wes Hoolahan should Neil wish to stiffen up his midfield.

Steven Whittaker, Jonny Howson and Graham Dorrans are among those who may benefit from some festive rotation. Loanees Andre Wisdom and Matt Jarvis missed the United win and remain out.